Just another Face in the Crowd
by BarelyVisable
Summary: I was well aware that in the sea of rich students at Ouran Academy, I was just another face in the crowd. But then I met the famous Host Club.  Rated T to be safe.


I held the thin piece of paper in my hand as I wandered the halls. "I should be in the East Building…" I stop next to one of the many large windows lining the halls. There was a clock tower, a large main building and 3 smaller buildings surrounding a large garden. There was no doubt; I was in the right school, but maybe not the right building. Sighing, I continue down the hall, until I feel something pull on my skirt.

I turn around to face whoever it is, and I hear a sharp tearing sound. I look down to see that my skirt has gotten caught in one of the plants lining each side of the hall. My eyes continue downwards to my skirt, the bottom half now torn to shreds. "…crap. There is no way I can afford another one of these uniforms!" I smooth out the remaining fabric and continue walking, and hear a faint snickering coming from the room to my left. Above the room there was a sign that simply read 'Music Room 3'.

The door was closed, so I quietly held my ear to the door, hoping to get some clue to what they were talking about. I knew in my mind that it was most likely not about me, but my curiosity got the best of me. "… And she totally fell for it!" _Okay, who fell for what? _I pressed my ear closer to the door, hoping to hear a few more people talking. I heard footsteps coming my way, but I wasn't all that worried that they would open the door. But of course, they came closer and closer to the door, until I heard the large door handle turn.

Inside I was panicking, but I couldn't peel my face away from the door. I tried and tried, but my feet wouldn't move. After probably the longest few seconds of my life, the door opened outwards, knocking me down. "..Guess I should have seen that one coming…"I murmured a few seconds after hitting the ground. I opened my eyes to a tall boy, probably a year older than me, glaring down at me through glasses. I gulped, and started to get back on my feet. "Who might you be?" He said, examining every detail of my face. "I am Masuyo Kaneko, of Kaneko Electronics." The boy nodded, pushing his glasses up on his nose and pulling out a notebook.

He opened his mouth to speak again, but two boys that were almost identical stopped him. In perfect unison, they said, "So, 'Masuyo Kaneko', what were you doing eavesdropping on our club meeting?" I hesitated for a moment, hoping to fabricate the perfect lie to cover up my tracks. "Well… I, um…" I felt a light blush hit my face, so I looked away. I turned around, hoping to walk away. But, two bodies stopped me dead in my tracks. I looked up, and much to my surprise, there were actually three boys standing in my escape route. There was a tall blonde, a tall dark haired boy, and another short blonde perched on his shoulders.

The first one to say anything was the tall blonde. "Hello princess, I don't believe we've met. I'm Tamaki Suoh. But you may call me King." "Hello, I'm Honey! You may call me Honey-sempai!" said the short blonde. He pointed to the boy he was sitting on and said, "Oh! This is Mori. You may call him Mori-sempai!" I pointed behind me and asked, "Oh. Nice to meet you! May I ask who they are?" The heard the one called Tamaki sigh. "Oh, the two red-haired twins are Hikaru and Kaoru." He leaned in closer and whispered, "If they ask you to play the 'Which one is Hikaru Game' just say no. Got it?" I slowly nod my head, and turn to see the twins glare at him, and thus ignite a mini glare contest.

"The cold one with the glasses is Kyoya." With this remark, I saw Kyoya give a death glare to Tamaki, who then, in turn whispered to me, "He is often called 'The Demon King' for obvious reasons." I allow myself to laugh a little, and then ask one final question. "Do you know where the East Building is? I'm supposed to be there right now, but I got myself lost." Another boy appeared from around the corner. "This is the West Building. The East Building is the one directly across from here on the campus. Oh, I'm Haruhi, nice to meet you!" He held out his hand so I shook it. "Nice to meet you too, I'm Masuyo."

My name seemed to ring a bell in his head, because his face light up. "Oh! You must be the new student who is entering my class this year! Oh, by the way, I'm in class 1-D if you want to check. Hikaru and Kaoru here are also in that class." _Great, I get to be in a class with a bunch of people who already think I can't be trusted. _I turned to look at the twins, who were excitedly talking to each other in hushed voices.I turned back to Haruhi. "So, do you think we can walk to class together? Only temporarily, of course, I don't want to be a bother to any of you." Haruhi nodded and then said, "Sure! It's no bother. The twins here can come to!" With mention of them, the twins turned to us. Haruhi and I both chuckled and Haruhi told us to come along.

Haruhi and the twins talked to each other the whole time, while I walked a few feet behind, quietly. Thoughts about everything floated through my head, not allowing for anything new to come in. Except of the feeling of loneliness I felt while walking behind them. But every time they tried to ask me if I was okay, I would simply reply, "I'm fine." Or "Don't worry about me." and give a small smile. Then they would return to their conversation and I would be swallowed by my thoughts once again. By the time we arrived at the class room, I was drained. I couldn't focus, and when a student walked up to me to tell me I was in her seat, I didn't get up until she kicked me off of her chair and on to the hard tile floor.

I got up and looked around, seeing no available chairs. Not knowing what to do, I got up and walked to the front of the class, waiting for the teacher to arrive and assign me a seat. I waited for a while, probably looking like an idiot standing in front of the class like that for so long. The teacher didn't show up for another ten minutes, and when he did, he just told me to sit on the floor in the back of the classroom and keep my mouth shut while a janitor brings another chair and desk for me to use. I obeyed, and placed myself in the back, glad that the other students would be then forced to return their attention to the teacher, and not me.

I sat on the hard ground, not aware yet of the two people who happened to be sitting right in front of me and staring. I looked up, and after placing the faces, looked down. They were the two red-headed twins from before, the ones from the front of the music room. "What do you two want?" I say, almost coldly. I don't make any eye contact, worried that they may read my mind or something. Then, almost immediately, one of the twins replies, "Nothing, really. I just want to know if-"He was then cut off by the other twin, who then said, "The reason you were listening to our conversation in the club room had anything to your torn uniform." I thought about it for a minute. _Was my uniform the reason? _"I'm sorry. I'm not too sure of my reasons for doing that either." When I heard the back of their school blazers move against the back of the seat, I assumed our conversation was over and crossed my arms.

The rest of the class, I sat there in the back of the class, not bothering to talk to anyone. The janitor never came, and it looked like it would be the same conditions tomorrow. Not that it bothered me much; I knew all of the materials we would be covering this year. I learned it all from the books that my parents have given me to learn while they were off attending to business. I spent countless afternoons like that, reading either in my room or outside in the garden. But I was always alone. The fact didn't bother me back then; I didn't know other people my age existed. But now, I did and it really annoyed me.

I thought back on it throughout the day, and I concluded that the reason no one was talking to me was the fact that I may have come off cold or maybe antisocial. I went through the motions in the morning, not seeing any point in actually trying in the classes. Until lunch came around, that is. I quietly approached the dining hall, and was immediately pushed in by a large group of eager students. The room was huge with a ceiling that was at least three stories above my head, which made me dizzy when I looked up to it.

I looked around at all the students, and I got the same feeling I got when I first entered that classroom. I took the lunch I had made the night before in my hands and wandered around. _Maybe I should just sit off to the side on the floor again… _I thought to myself. I recognized some of the faces from my father's album. Most of them were photographed with their parents or with a sibling above my father's handwritten description. I sighed as I remembered my father leaving the house with my two older sisters to go to a party at least once a week. Being the youngest, I was never invited to come. 'You have no use in this, Masuyo. Just stay at home and read some of the books I gave you. Then maybe you can create a career of your own.' My father always told that to me as he left the house.

I slammed my back into the wall and slid down. Not like I cared if I seemed antisocial or cold. At least this way I get to choose who I end up spending my life with. I set my lunch on my lap and slowly began eating it. I had finished about half of it when I felt someone above me. "Can I help you?" I ask, not looking up or showing any emotion. The person leaned down, and took my lunch. "Um, excuse me, can I please have that back? That's my lunch…" I heard a small grunt and then the person replied, "Now, Masuyo, why on Earth would I give it back to you, of all people?" I knew that voice. It belongs to the only heir to the company that is competing with ours, Daichi Maruyama. "Look, Maruyama-san, please don't bring our families' affairs to school." I say, not understanding since I'm not involved with said affairs.

"Fine, I won't bring up our families' affairs to school, after this." With that remark, he took my lunch and poured all of its contents onto my skirt. He laughed and walked away, to his friends sitting at a table nearby. I stand up, allowing all solid food to fall on the floor. What was left was a saucy stain. _Great, in one day I managed to rip and stain the uniform. What's next?_ _Maybe I should just take off the outer layer; there is a white dress underneath anyways. _I run to the girls bathroom, trying to tune out the laughter and glares around me. As soon as I reach the cafeteria doors, I felt a thick rope above my ankles. My ankle gets tangled in it, and then twists, making me tumble to the ground. With that I successfully tore my stockings and my sleeve giving my knees and hands nasty rug burns. _I better take off the stockings too._

I try to stand, but standing on my twisted ankle just sends a wave of pain through my body. I topple back onto the ground, looking to the sides of the door. "What are you two doing here?" I ask the twins who were kneeling on both sides of the door. "Examining our catch of the day, although they usually don't get that hurt…" They stand up and put one of their hands on my upper arm. "Do you want us to help you to the nurse's office?" I attempt to stand up, and heavily rely on the boys that are on either side of me.

"Yeah, thanks guys. Hikaru and Kaoru, right?" We start walking down the hallway, the twins half carrying me. "That's right. Do you have a spare uniform?" I sigh and then reply, "Well, no. My parents aren't exactly supportive of me, or my funds for that matter. I was just going to take off my stockings and the outer dress." The twins simply reply, "Oh, okay. It's a good thing Ouran's uniform policy isn't that strict. Maybe you should come to the Music Room again after school. We have a few spare uniforms laying around." I allow myself to smile for a moment, and then remember something.

"Are you sure it's okay? The other guys didn't seem to like me much." The twins laughed and simply said, "We don't think thats the case, but if your worried about it, we can ask them together after school.

Author's Note: This is the first chapter of my first story! I hope you liked it, and I hope you review! Either way, thanks for reading my story, and I hope that you will enjoy it enough to look forward to another chapter!

~BarelyVisable


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